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It doesn't take some brass cartridge cases long to become brittle. I had some Winchester .22 WMR ammunition that wasn't but about 15 years old that split lengthwise, as you show. It may be a function of the manufacturing processes that cause aging straight-walled cases to do this.

As a testament to how long black powder can stay functional I offer this account. A friend of mine has been a lifelong War Between The States artifact collector. He used the best metal detectors that could be found at the time in his searching. The brand was Nautilus, AIR. Anyway, he found a cannonball at a depth of several feet with the metal detector and unearthed it, then in cleaning it he found that it was an explosive round that obviously had not gone off on impact. He disassembled it somehow and removed the black powder inside, which he said was actually grayish in appearance. He was an avid flintlock shooter/hunter as well and loaded his rifle with it and it actually fired. This was in the 1980s, so the powder was at least 115-120 years old.

In the book, Hunting Weapons, by Howard L. Blackmore at plate 138 there is a picture of an almost identically stocked Rigby .303 Mauser made for a one-armed British Officer.

On that example there is a small leather covered cheek rest at the turn of the stock wrist and the “paddle” is leather covered presumably to be held in the armpit by the stump of his arm.

It was then in the Tower of London, but will now be at the Royal Armouries at Leeds where Jonathan Ferguson or Mark Murray-Futter should be able you give more details.

Does yours have a Rigby number on the bottom of the trigger guard?

DON’T try this at home, although interesting it was not the brightest of ideas.

I bought at auction 2 boxes of Kynoch .295 or .300 Rook “Non-Rusting”. The part filled box had original contents and empties. The then full box pictured above had a variety of rounds from different sources some solid and some hollow point, a cartridge collector’s dream.

The block of 25 on the right with brass primers (some stamped ICI) are almost certainly non-corrosive with No. 69 .177 primers.

The 2 head stamped ELEY are at least 100 years old Kynoch taking over Eley centerfire rifle production in about 1924.

The rest with no head stamps, copper Boxer primers are even older, and were probably made over 123 years ago in the reign of Queen Victoria.

Last Sunday was the HBSA spring rifle competition at Bisley. I had loaded up nitro ammunition for the “Greener” for smokeless ammunition but none for the “Holland” for black powder only.

It occurred to me that the really old stuff was probably black powder loads and I could use them up in the Holland’s IF they worked.

Course of fire is 13 rounds sitting at 50 yards, and 13 standing at 25. To save time putting up sighting targets and shoot more details we use the muzzle loader rule of best 10 shots to count for score.

Having shot the smokeless event, I explained to the Range Officer what I was intending so he could watch to see that I was using black powder (they were).

At 50 yards I got off 13 rounds (a couple required re-cocking the hammer for a second strike and there was one slight hangfire as well as a total mis-fire).

My score of 53 ex 70 was not much worse than my admittedly indifferent nitro 50 yard score and bettered the 50 yard score of the only other black powder competitor in the Holland’s.

Half of my scoring shots hit the black (7 and 6 rings) which is about the size of a Rook’s chest, the rest being above and below the black.

I did not have a dead Rook handy, but I believe all 13 shotholes could have been covered by the carcass with the wings folded.

So far so good, but at 25 yards I had misfires followed but a squib that left the bullet stuck in the bore and I had to retire with no score at 25.

The stuck bullet pushed out easily, and I have boiled out the corrosive fouling with no damage to the rifling,

The cases had clearly become embrittled with age as can be seen with the stuck bullet under the box.

I won’t do it again and will try to find the time to load at least 26 black powder rounds before the next competition, but I find it interesting that ammunition perhaps over 125 years old would still largely function and still if well aimed kill a Rook.

For the man with two loaders?

I shot it yesterday with 2-1/2" light handloads in Fiocchi cases. The shell jumps the extractor after firing. [censored - come on man!] of a job to remove the case. Crimped the rim with slip joint plier. I will try other cases. I have some RSTs. At worst I'll have to have the extractor built up and maybe the rim recess recut.

JOHN RIGBY 7mm MAUSER - A RARE EXPERIMENTAL BULLPUP or A CUSTOM RIFLE FOR A ONE ARM MAN

I just added this one to my collection. I've always liked the "different" guns, and this one sure fits that definition. I can't wait to get it in hand. I will be contacting John Rigby asking for any information available for this rifle.

As always your comments are most welcome.

http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/RIGBY-ONE-000.jpg

They're pretty Bob, but do you shoot 'em, or just take pics of them?

I don't recall ever seeing a pic of any of them in the field, or on the range.

Really good book. Wouldn't want to part with my copy of it.

Good luck, RR.

Show 'em your Model 21s, Bob. 😁 Those Brownings are gorgeous, though! 👍

Whillikers! That is gorgeous wood!

Now back to the Model 21s. 😊

Added to the dictionary (Updates now on p.14):
https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=480959&page=all

Crosse - stock
...Crosse arab - Stock with a smoothly tapering neck to a sinuous butt.
...Crosse anglaise - English straight stock
...Crosse à joue - stock with cheek piece
...Crosse de borgne - crossover stock
...Crosse demi-pistolet - half pistol grip stock resembling a "Prince of Wales"
...Crosse pistolet - pistol grip stock

And next, Mister Midas.

https://www.naturabuy.fr/rare-fusil-ideal-pontet-lunette-crosse-arabe-collection-item-11259013.html

Ce nom vient du fait qu'elles ressemblaient aux crosses des fusils arabes Moukala.

Mercy.

...Mo Betta
A set of 28 gauge Superposed, 28" Skeet

Une crosse arabe... Jamais entendu ça.

https://drouot.com/fr/l/15578558-fusil-juxtapose-ideal-de-manuf

Hrm! Je viens d'apprendre un nouveau terme. Merci!

Tom,

Jusqu'en 1891, l'Idéal était monté uniquement avec une crosse arabe. A partir de cette date, elle commence à disparaitre pour laisser place à des crosses conventionnelles (demi-pistolet et anglaise).

N'oubliez pas de mettre des photos de votre Idéal Perfection, quand vous l'aurez reçu.

Yeah, I know. I was joking. It's got the little dollar signs stamped into the left side of its flats. Big Scrooge McDuck fan, so I bought it.

I guess my picture's not showing up for you. It does have that mega yacht of a forend, with the horseshoe-shaped retaining hardware at the front, as opposed to the previous version with fasteners on either side of the wood. The weird thing about it is, when I unboxed and first beheld it, I expected it'd handle like a baulk of mine-shoring timber. Not the case. It swings like it's an extension of my hatred of the color orange.

Regarding your Browning.
Skeet/Skeet. Most likely .005 constriction top and bottom.
“New Style Skeet” if it looks like it has 2 forends worth of wood up front.

I heard through the grapevine that Hodgdon in its infinite wisdom is now publishing 12 gauge loads for 244.

Sure enough, the website has quite a few loads many with some of the new wave wads, and many with pressures on the low side for the claimed velocity levels at least in the one ounce selections.

Surprising. This powder was initially marketed for pistol applications with a copper scavenger and low flash characteristics. My source claims it's either an alternative to or an eventual replacement for WST. This is just one word of mouth claim.

The main attraction at this point is that the stuff is available, and good bit cheaper than WST and the Alliant extortion when you can find any. I'm not saying it's cheap. It certainly isn't. We are still being robbed.

If you want one ounce loads in the 7200 psi range with snappy velocity, you might want to investigate 244.

Took a long-overdue trip to the trap & skeet club today.



On the left, Rizzini BR550, 28-gauge, 28" barrels. A magic wand. Used it for four rounds of trap with Modified chokes. Shot like a bag of hammers, very inconsistently, but had fun doing so. Odd thing, today... The backside of the trigger guard kept smacking my middle finger, to the point that it's a bit bruised and swollen. Never happened before. Same loads I've always used. Is my grip too loose or something?

On the right, salt wood-era Browning Superposed Lightning Skeet, 12-gauge, 26" pipes. Choked, uhh, I forget how it's choked. A short, fat shillelagh of a shotgun. Shot two rounds of skeet, coached on where to hold for each penguin at every station by a real old pro, and actually managed to blow up some doubles. More than once each round, which is encouraging. And by blow up, I mean they disintegrated. It only happened when my mind was a blank, though. See penguin, shoot penguin.

These two bazookas couldn't be more different-- unless one of them had a third barrel chambered in .229 Flea, and the other had a built-in Würzburg radar set. I love 'em both.

Its thick leather with a felt liner.

Very nice gun and case. Is the case made of thick leather or does it have some kind of composite covered by leather?

The American Single Barrel Trap Gun by Frank Conley.

Mint condition with mint dust jacket in library cover.

$125 plus media mail shipping.

PM for pics.